Out of Exile
by VeritaParlata
Summary: When tragedy struck his life five years ago, Jason Morgan left Port Charles to start a new life. When someone from the past suddenly reappears, Jason is forced to face the demons he left behind.
1. Prologue,

Out of Exile

Rating: Mature  
Characters: Primary GH Cast/OFC-Lucinda  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from _General Hospital_.

Premise: When tragedy struck his life five years ago, Jason Morgan left Port Charles to start a new life. When someone from the past he left behind suddenly reappears, Jason is forced to face the demons he left behind.

∞

**Prologue **

_When I first came to this island,  
That I called by my own name,  
I was happy in this fortress,  
In my exile I remained.  
But the hours grew so empty,  
And the ocean sent her waves,  
In the figure of a woman,  
And she pulled me out to sea._

_- Out of Exile_, Audioslave -

The nights were long and cold. Especially the nights when she was away or simply not sleeping beside him. Jason Morgan tossed and turned in his large empty bed. The chill of the night air blew through the open window. It was mid August and below thirty degrees. In the five years he's lived here, he'd never been able to get used to the weird weather patterns of London.

He's lived in different places before. New York, Italy and various other countries in the world, but if you'd told him five years ago that he'd be living in London he wouldn't have believed you. If you'd told him quite a few things he does now five years ago he'd have probably laughed.

_Funny how things change_, he thought.

As he rolled on his back for the nth time to stare at the ceiling veiled in shadows, he sighed. _Funny how some thing never change_, he thought rather bitterly.

Everything would be better once she came home to him. To their home, their bed and his arms. Everything was better when she was beside him.

_Lucinda_.

Rolling his head to the side, he looked at the picture on his nightstand. It was a picture of him and Lucinda together taken shortly after they started dating three years ago. Jason had to fight hard to suppress the urge to caress her photographed silhouette. Fought harder to suppress the urge of calling her… again. He'd already spoken with her once after she rushed out of their home in the middle of the night to return to the hospital after one of her patients tried to commit suicide. She promised him she'd return as soon as she possibly could… and now all Jason could do was wait.

Call him paranoid or call him cautious, but he'd rather have her next to him.

Shifting his gaze briefly from the picture of them to the clock with the blaring red number that read _12:30 am_, he couldn't fight the dread that filled his gut.

Something was wrong.

If Lucinda was here, she'd tell him that is was just bad memories manifesting themselves.

_Shrinks._ _They always bring their work home_.

Jason didn't mind. Her expertise and dedication to her field and her patients garnished the admiration of everyone she encountered, from her colleagues to her patients.

Jason certainly admired her when he was her patient.

He'd never forget the first time he met her. He'd walked into her office, shattered and broken, and encountered an angel. A raven-haired angel, with her deep green eyes set again caramel skin and long legs supporting a statuesque figure. Jason couldn't deny he was attracted to her the first time he met her. Over the course of his treatment, he grew increasingly attracted to her and found her to be attracted to him; but being the professional Lucinda was, she never crossed the line.

Their work together on Jason's fractured psyche lasted a year… but Lucinda never accepted his affection until a year later. Jason chuckled softly in the dark. He often joked with her that he had to badger her for two whole years just to get her to agree to go to dinner with him.

Now they were living together, had been for the past nine months, and Jason had never been happier.

So much had changed since he started dating Lucinda, even before that really, before he ever came to London. Even he noticed the changes in himself. He'd finally come to terms with his past, or at least certain parts of it anyway. He'd reunited with his family, or at least as close as could be had when dealing with the Quartermaine clan, had taken the name again as well and his grandfather, Edward, so happy to have the prodigal son back in the family fold offered him a coveted job as the head of one of ELQ's holding companies in London.

Jason took the job and never looked back.

Jason Quartermaine arrived in London weeks later, was the head of an ELQ subsidiary as well as co-founder and CEO of ELQ-Knight Industries. A company he started with Lucinda. Jason Quartermaine was the man in love with Dr. Lucinda Knight. Jason Quartermaine was the man he was now.

Yet, every so often… Jason Morgan would rear his dangerous head.

Jason knew without a doubt that he couldn't erase those ten years he spent as Sonny Corinthos' mob enforcer. He couldn't erase all the pain he'd caused to countless people, or wash all the blood off his hands. He'd have to live with the screams of the innocent ringing in his ears. The coppery smell of innocent blood shed would always linger in his senses. Part of him would always be dark and sinister. Part of him would always live in the shadows and part of him deserved to pay for his crimes.

He wondered if he'd ever be whole again_. Probably not_. Too much had happened.

He looked at the picture of Lucinda again and thought resentfully that she deserved better. She deserved to be loved by a man that was a whole person. Deserved to be loved by someone who could give her everything she ever dreamed, materialistically as well as emotionally.

That wasn't him.

Could _never_ be him as long as he kept running from his past.

But he'd be damned if he didn't try.

He'd never felt for anyone else what he felt for Lucinda.

Not Robin who taught him how to love. Not Carly who tested how strong his love was. Not Courtney who tried to use love to change him. Not Sam who loved him blindly. Only Elizabeth came close with her unconditional love.

_Elizabeth…_

Jason closed his eyes tightly and tried to brace for the onslaught of torturous memories.

Elizabeth would never be the same because of him.

He could remember, so vividly, her face when she told him that the baby was his. That she'd lied to him at first and said the baby was her husband's to protect the child and his relationship with Sam… but couldn't continue living a lie. Telling him that she had fallen in love with him again and the least she could do was tell him that he was going to be a father.

Despite initial thoughts, he was ecstatic to be having a baby with her. He loved her, too. She told him she was still scared of the risks and dangers, and he promised he'd protect her.

_Always protect her._

But he couldn't.

She'd been badly hurt in gunfire meant for him and lost the baby. Nearly lost her own life.

She hadn't been able to look him in the eyes after that.

And he hadn't been able to forgive himself.

He would _never_ be able to forgive himself…

He felt the bed sink down and opened his eyes to see Lucinda smiling down at him.

She chuckled lightly, her warm smile fighting against the dark shadows in his mind. "I thought you were sleeping," she whispered as she bent down to brush her lips against his.

Immediately, Jason's hand reached up to fist in her raven-locks and held her in place, deepening the kiss. Trying to convey in his kiss all she meant to him. Letting her break the kiss, he brushed his finger along the outline of her flushed lips.

"Jase, are you okay?" she asked, her smile just as warm but now a bit concerned. She knew he still harbored darkness in his soul from past events. Knew he still carried the weight of a man being forever tormented.

"I'm fine, Lu," he whispered as he caressed her face lightly. "I just missed you."

Lucinda smiled, detecting the note of worry he tried to hide in his voice. Kicking her shoes off and shrugging off the jeans she'd tugged on when she first climbed out of their bed, she fell soundlessly into Jason's waiting arms.

Pressing a kiss to his forehead, she stared down into his cerulean orbs, meeting his fears with her defiance. "Well, I'm here now, baby, and everything's going to be okay."

Jason wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's petite frame and held onto her tightly. She was his salvation in these treacherous waters. Nuzzling his face into her neck, he allowed her soft breathing and the words spoken to lull him to sleep.

His demons would have to retreat to the shadows tonight.


	2. 1, For Every Action:

** Chapter 1 - For Every Action **

It was just past seven-thirty when Jason ran down the stairs in the apartment. Stopping at the desk to check the messages on his machine forwarded from the office by his secretary, he adjusted his tie.

He hated ties.

They reminded him too much of nooses.

Listening to the messages, he silently scolded himself. He was Jason Quartermaine now. Jason Q wore ties and suits to work, Dockers in the evening and jeans, occasionally, on the weekends. Jason Quartermaine went over business reports, took high-powered meetings with other companies, and raided other companies bringing them under the ELQ umbrella. Jason Quartermaine had year-round opera seats and tickets to the best operas to grace a London stage.

Jason Quartermaine was solid and dependable. He was also intelligent and ambitious, but an all-around bore.

However, being Jason Q had one of the best perks.

Walking into the kitchen, blinded briefly by the sheer bright sunlight coming through the wall window, his eyes landed on the best perk seated at the kitchen table, eating toast, drinking coffee and reading the _New York Times_.

Bending down, he kissed the top of Lucinda's head. "And how is my favorite CEO this morning?" Lucinda asked as she looked up into his eyes. She tilted her head and puckered her lips slightly.

Jason took the cue and bent to kiss her properly as his hand snaked the piece of toast from her. She glared at him before breaking out into a smile.

"Good," he answered honestly. "How about you?"

Sitting down across from her, his thoughts drifted briefly when he thought about the picture they made. Two professional adults with a growing life and relationship enjoying time together… even something as trivial and yuppie as eating breakfast. Another benefit of being Jason Q… enjoying the simple things in life… and not as a countenance to the violence.

"My shoulder's a little sore, but other than that I'm okay."

"What's wrong with your shoulder?" Jason asked though his hand had already reached over to massage her through the sheer fabric of her blouse.

"You tossed and turned all night and bumped into me a couple of times." To the worried look on his face she said, "It's no big deal. It's the prefect excuse to buy that bigger bed I've had my eye on though." She pinned him with a lethal smile.

Jason laughed softly. "You're always redecorating. The place looks fine, Lu," he told her and she made a face at him. "How professional of you, Dr. Knight," he joked.

"You keep up touching me that way and the good doctor will call in sick," she told him, a suggestive hint in her voice to match the glint in her eyes.

Jason's face split into a wide grin. He let his hand slide down from her shoulder to her collar, feeling the satiny sensitive skin underneath his fingertips. He stopped just above the swelling of her breasts, though his fingers ached to go lower. He had to stop himself. If he didn't, they'd never leave the house today.

"Maybe I could entice the good doctor to meet me for lunch today?"

"Entice away."

Always eager, Jason moved from his seat, breakfast forgotten, to stand behind her. Bending down, his lips met the sensitive skin behind her ear as his hand slipped underneath her blouse. Lucinda closed her eyes, lifted a hand to fist in his hair, and bit her lip to suppress a moan. His fingers massaged and teased her breasts and the last thing on her mind right now was work…, lunch…, or anything else for that matter but him.

"I have one session this morning that ends at noon. I could meet you at your office at, say, twelve-thirty?" she choked out between gasps as Jason's teeth nipped at her flesh.

"I'll be out of the office until one and I have a conference call coming in at two," Jason informed her. "When is your afternoon session?" He pulled her up out of the chair and sat down, then brought her down to straddle his lap as his hand roamed the flesh of her upper thigh.

"Three," she whispered in between placing kisses against his collarbone, vaguely aware of the sound of her own voice against the pulsating blood in her veins. "I'll meet you in your office at one."

"Great," Jason whispered against her throat. He pulled back with a groan and cupped her face in his hands. She was, by far, the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. With the sunlight against her back and her black hair falling down around her face and shoulders, she truly reminded him of an angel. Her cheeks and lips flushed, her chest heaving with the rapid intake of air, those emerald eyes, and that breathtaking smile.

She was everything to him.

Jason Quartermaine may be a bore… but he wouldn't trade this life for the world.

Ten minutes later, after they'd quieted the fire and readjusted themselves, they prepared to leave their apartment together, eagerly anticipating their lunch date.

Gathering files from his desk, he came across a note. Written on a single piece of crisp white stationary in handwriting that he didn't recognize were the words: _I've found you_.

Jason's heart immediately skipped a dozen beats, but he tried not to panic. It could be something Lucinda dropped from one of her files. Something one of her patients wrote. That idea didn't sit well with him though. Lucinda was meticulous about her files and the work she brought home. She was also more than cautious about keeping their files separate, as her case-files were confidential and private.

Jason had a bad feeling.

"Lu?" he called, trying his hardest to keep his voice on an even keel.

"Yeah, babe?" she answered as she came out of her office behind him, briefcase in tow.

"You know what this is?" He showed her the note, though it was against his better judgment. He was being paranoid. He was out of the life. Out of Port Charles, out of the States and out of danger.

Lucinda shook her head dismissively. "No, it was pushed under the door when I came in last night."

Several alarms sounded in Jason's mind but he tried his hardest to ignore them. _She is not in any danger_, he thought to himself as Lucinda pulled on her suit jacket. She was safe. He was safe.

"Ready, Jase?"

"Yeah," he answered after a moment, grabbing his briefcase and suit jacket. Crumbling the note, he tossed it in the wastebasket on their way out the door.

No one had found him…

No one _could_ find him…

Jason Morgan no longer existed.


	3. 2, There Is a Reaction:

**Chapter 2 - There Is a Reaction **

He was worried for no reason. He knew it. He knew the chances of being found by any of his former enemies were always a possibility, but in the five years he's lived in London, he's not exactly been in hiding and nothing had happened. Not even when he was at his weakest.

The very public feud and rebuking of all things Sonny Corinthos, Carly, and their children included, Jason was more than sure was publicized throughout the organization. He'd made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with Sonny or anything involving him.

Nevertheless, the enemies he'd made during those ten years weren't exactly the type to just forgive and forget. Nor were they the type to let him disappear.

He's been very lucky these past few years and wondered now if his luck was starting to run out.

He looked down at the crumpled piece of stationary on his desk and read the words again.

_I've found you_.

They seemed to jump out at him, attacking that part of him that was always left unguarded. He'd gone back upstairs after watching Lucinda pull away from the parking garage and gotten it from the trash. He didn't know why. On some subconscious level he didn't want the note and what it could represent in his home. Didn't want it anywhere near the life he had with Lucinda.

His gaze flickered up and landed on the picture of Lucinda that graced his desk. Was she really as safe as he thought her to be? Was she sitting in her session right now or was she somewhere with a gun pressed to her head? He fought the urge to call her office harder than he's ever fought anything in his life. She was strong and independent and didn't deserve to live her life in a glass cage… that could easily be broken.

That's the problem with glass…

…it always breaks.

"_Elizabeth?" Jason whispered her name as he sat by her bed in General Hospital. Her eyes were open, but she couldn't bring them to meet his. He reached out his hand to touch her forehead, but stopped himself. She wouldn't welcome his touch anymore than she welcomed his presence._

_She looked so fragile, so broken, just a former shell of the woman she once was and he knew he was the cause of her disposition. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he dropped his hand in a defeated effort._

_It required more strength than he currently had to stand and walk away from that bed. From her. More strength to turn and face her one last time. Elizabeth looked at him now…with the eyes of a child afraid of some vile monster. With the sad eyes of a woman brokenhearted._

_Jason turned and left her room, sparing her the view of his falling tears._

"Mr. Quartermaine?" His secretary's soft voice jarred his thoughts. Focusing his eyes on the petite blonde standing in front his desk, he placed an appeasing smile on his face. The blonde smiled back. "Here is the Colson file you requested," She placed it on the desk. "Mr. Declan just returned your call and is regrettably unable to make the meeting today. So, your morning is freed and your two pm conference call has been pushed back to two-thirty per your request."

"Thank you, Sandra," Jason replied softly, phone in hand to make some calls.

Sandra turned on her heels and headed toward the door. "Oh," she called, pivoting on her heels and turning around in a whirlwind to face him again. "Rex is in the waiting area. He said he needs just a moment of your time. Said it's important."

Jason placed the phone receiver back in its cradle. She'd just saved him a call. "Send him in, please, Sandra."

The petite blonde exited the room and, not more than a second later, another blond entered. This time a man with chiseled features and mischievous eyes. He was younger than Jason, early twenties at the most.

"I went over the building's security tapes," Rex was saying as he closed the door to Jason's office. He turned and faced Jason with a grievous look on his face. He plopped down in the chair opposite Jason's desk, the look never fading from his face and making Jason's heart thunder in his chest. "We've got a problem," Rex said finally.

"That being?" Jason asked, his voice calmer than he thought it would be.

Rex bit back a smirk. That's one of the things he admired about Jason… he always got straight to the point. "I checked out the security tapes as I said and there is something of interest."

Jason chuckled softly to himself as his hands clenched and unclenched. Rex Balsom was a good private investigator. He was young and cocky, but had a dutiful sense of right and wrong and the horrible blurred than that one sometimes had to cross. He came from a troubled past which enabled him to get in good with the shady characters, but had the respect of a police commissioner which enabled him to get the all clear from the law abiding.

Jason never regretted hiring the kid as his personal detective… but right now, Rex was treading a dangerous line.

If he didn't tell Jason something concrete _right now_, he was going to reach over and snap the kid's neck like a twig.

"Someone entered your building a little after midnight and headed up to the penthouse level. This was almost thirty minutes after Dr. Knight had gone."

Jason breathed a slight sigh of relief. Lucinda hadn't encountered this person and for that he was very thankful. Yet, he was also troubled as to what it could mean. Did the person wait for Lucinda to leave the apartment? Were they simply waiting for a moment to get Jason alone?

"Then… it gets a little weird," Rex's exaggerated drawl wrenched Jason from his dark thoughts.

"Define a _little weird_," Jason demanded.

"The time stamp put them at your penthouse at 12:05 am," Rex began. "Then the next time stamp is 12:35 when Dr. Knight returned. A whole half-hour has been blotted out like it was cut from the tape."

"Did - -"

"I had Archie check it out," Rex answered the question before it could leave Jason's mouth. "No one tampered with the tape and there's no indication that the camera stopped working during that half hour."

"What about the security guard?" Jason asked. "Did he see anything?"

"Lawrence was upstairs for about an hour handling a domestic violence issue on the fifth floor. Police confirmed he was there helping Mrs. Carmichael after her husband attempted to run off with their son." Both men scowled. "His night-shift partner, Tommy Easley, was unable to answer my questions over the phone." Rex smiled a bit. "I thought I'd pay him a visit once I leave here."

That dread-filled knot once again found its way into Jason's stomach. He didn't like this. He didn't like any of this… and something told him it was bound to get worse.

"Was Lu…" his chest felt tight. "Was Lucinda in any danger last night?" Jason wanted to know… just had to know.

Rex's face remained stoic. "It's hard to say. She was at the hospital until 12:20. Cops confirm it and so does the timestamps on the hospital security keycard. I'm sure she was fine." Rex took extra caution before saying the next words. He was certain Jason already knew them, but they needed to be said. "It seems this person… was trying to get to you."

Sighing pensively, Jason leaned back in his chair and it creaked ominously under his weight. He ran a hand through his dirty-blond locks wistfully. He stared at Rex, silently, before picking up the crumpled note and handing it to him.

"I want you to find out who wrote that. Get together with Archie and do whatever it is that the two of you do, but find out who they are."

Rex looked at the note and then back to Jason, he wouldn't ask any questions. "I would need something to compare it to," Rex said.

Jason's gaze softened a bit as he reached inside the desk drawer and pulled out a stack of letters and tossed them Rex. Looking down at the hefty stack in his hands, Rex saw that all the letters were sent to an Italian P.O. Box that Jason had forwarded to London. They were all addressed to him and all sent from someone named Sam McCall. Again, Rex knew better than to ask questions.

Jason rose from the chair and stood next to the window, overlooking the busy street below. Storm clouds were gathering on the horizon. Jason thought, oddly, that it was fitting. There was surely a storm brewing.

Jason Morgan was rearing his dangerous head again.

"I've tried so hard to keep _Jason Morgan_ away from this life. Away from Lucinda," he shook his head, "I don't want any of this to touch her," he turned and pinned Rex with a lethal look, "Jason Morgan is dead and I'm paying you good money to keep it that way."

Rex knew very well what was expected of him. Jason paid him well to keep his image out of the newspapers across the world, keeping up the appearance that Edward Quartermaine was an old coot who'd hired someone to keep up appearances after his grandson was killed. Paid him well to protect the woman he loved.

Rex admired the lengths Jason went to in order to protect himself and Lucinda. Admired the fact that he gave him a chance after that whole fiasco with Todd Manning back in Llanview. Rex had gone to great lengths in finding Todd's son, only to find him as the adopted son of a friend. He'd wrestled for weeks on what to do, but before he could make the decision, Todd had found out the truth and publicly disgraced him. He'd lost his P.I. license for a while and any hopes of winning anyone else's respect when Jason Quartermaine showed up on his door and offered him a job he ultimately couldn't refuse.

Rex had come to look at Jason and Lucinda as friends…and Rex Balsom always protected his friends.

"I'll get right on it," Rex said finally, jumping up from the chair and heading for the door. He stopped on his heels and pivoted to face Jason once again. "There's something else you should know." Jason waited with baited breath. "The person on the tape is a woman. I couldn't really get a positive ID on her, but it's… a woman."

Rex left after imparting that information on Jason, closing the door softly behind him, leaving Jason with the feelings of dread and worry to fill his senses. He looked out the window in the direction of the hospital where Lucinda worked.

_She's safe_, he told himself. _Jason Morgan is dead and Lucinda and I are safe_.

Rex's words had a way of filtering in, though. No matter how hard he tried to ignore them.

"_It seems this person… was trying to get to you."_


	4. 3, Steadfast:

** 3 - Steadfast **

_Beep… Beep… Beep…_

The room was still. Too still. Not a sound could be heard except her raspy intake of air. She laid still in the bed, unable to move. She could feel the straps wrapped tightly around her wrists and ankles.

She was a danger to herself.

That's what she remembered them saying last night when they sedated her.

Only she knew how wrong they were. She was far from being a danger to herself. Someone else was. She had to make them see that. Had to… somehow.

Opening her eyes, she looked around the room. The heart monitor beeped along while the IV pumped into her system. She felt groggy. Steadfastly so with all the drugs they gave her last night.

It was then that her body sensed I reawakening and a blinding pain shot through her so quickly, a scream escaped her mouth before she could think. Hot tears rolled down her cheek and her body involuntarily tried to break free of its restraints.

Images flashed behind her tightly closed lids. Memories of things passed but present in her fractured psyche. She could feel the blade of a knife digging into her side just as vividly as she could see it in her mind.

She screamed again, this time more out of fear than out of pain. The subliminal imagery too much too endure. Men with big hands covered her face and neck while others carried her away. A darkened hole. Her body cramped and stuffed as they locked within. She hadn't slept or eaten in days. She didn't know how she was going to survive but only knew she had to.

As one of the men grabbed her in her memory, she fought to free herself in reality. The restraints on her wrists and ankles were now this man's hands… and she couldn't tell the difference.

"Samantha!" a voice called her name. She opened her eyes to see a woman peering over her. Concern etched on the woman's face as she tried to calm the situation. "It's all right," she spoke softly. "You're all right."

"They're after me," Sam said with a look of pure terror on her face. Her voice was chilling even as sweat broke out across her brow. "They're going to find me."

The kind woman touched her forehead with a cool towel. "No one is after you, Samantha. No one is going to find you. No one, I promise. I want you to calm down. Focus on me."

That seemed to calm Sam down as the woman was allowed to gently lay her down on the pillow. Sam's vacant eyes slowly stopped scanning the room and she focused on the woman like she was asked. She recognized the face from last night when she was brought in. This was the face of the first person who had been kind to her in a very long while.

"Can you tell me who I am?"

Closing her eyes, Sam tried to catch her breath, "Dr. Winters."

The woman smiled. "That's right. I'm Lainey. Lainey Winters. Do you remember where you are?"

It took a bit longer for Sam's heart to stop racing. "New Hope Memorial Hospital," she answered finally.

"Right," Lainey smiled again. "What city?"

"London. L-London, England," Sam replied softly. Her voice had been reduced to a whisper now that her throat seemed to be hoarse from all the screaming she just did.

"Good," Lainey commended her. "I want you to remain calm, okay. I'm going to give you something to help you sleep," she kept her voice calm and even as to not upset the young woman.

"No," Sam protested but it was too late. "I don't want to sleep. I don't want to-"

Her sentence was cut off when her eyes drifted shut. She'd fallen into a calm rest…

- - -

Lucinda was seated at her desk going over some notes when there was a light knock on her office door. A moment later a head peered inside and Lucinda knew from the look on the person's face, this wasn't a friendly visit.

"Hi," Lainey greeted her friend and colleague. "You have a sec?"

Dropping her pen and the notepad she was reading on the desk, Lucinda looked up, "Yeah, sure. What's going on?"

Lainey stepped all the way into the office and closed the door - a big indication the subject matter was serious. She sat down on the sofa near the door. "I want you to look at a case for me."

A cross between a sigh of relief and a chuckle escaped Lucinda's mouth. Lainey only wanted her to be a consult. "Okay, sure."

Lainey stood from the couch and walked over to place a folder on the desk. Lucinda opened it as Lainey said, "Samantha McCall is her name. She was found wandering the streets last night…before showing up at the hospital covered in blood." Lucinda looked up from the file to Lainey's face briefly before Lainey continued, "At first, the cop thought she was drunk from the way she was staggering but her blood-alcohol level showed no indication she even sipped a drink last night."

Lucinda waited… this just had to get better. "Get to the part where she's covered in blood."

"Cop offers to escort her to her place of residence."

Lucinda looked at the residence listed on the form. "Eden Towers? She live in my building?"

Lainey shook her head. "No, her ID says Port Charles, New York." Brows furrowed in confusion, Lucinda let her friend continue. "This was around 12:05 am this morning. Forty five minutes later, she walks in downstairs covered in blood saying she's stabbed a man who raped her. Her clothes are torn, scratches on her body and everything is consistent until the rape-kit comes back negative."

Lucinda closed her eyes. "What about the man she stabbed?"

"Dead," Lainey confirmed. "Here's the interesting part."

"More interesting than the things you've just said?"

Smirking a bit, Lainey chose not to respond to that statement. "She claims that his name was Manny Ruiz."

"He's not?"

"ID says Calvin Richardson. Fingerprints confirm it."

"So where does Manny Ruiz come in?"

"That's where I need your help," Lainey said. She dropped her head briefly before staring back at Lucinda. "This girl is… broken. She's… classic case manic depression and exhibits signs of dementia and paranoia. She really needs help. But I really think something happened her to. Something… bad."

Lucinda sighed pensively. "What do you want me to do?"

"Talk to her. You're the leading specialist in cases like these."

Lucinda considered this, she would help this girl simply because Lainey asked her to. But she was still a doctor and a realistic one at that. She had to ask the tough questions. Starting with this one, "What if you're wrong? What if this girl is faking insanity to get out of murder charges?" As ludicrous as it sounded, since Lucinda believe anyone who could commit murder in cold-blood was mentally unstable, there were people who used insanity pleas - convincingly so - to escape murder charges… and it worked.

"I thought about that," Lainey said softly. Her face took on an entirely new expression when she said, "But I don't think anyone can fake the things I saw in this girl. It's bad, Lu. She's in torment."


End file.
